BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Never Again: Is gun control movement too white?

  • Published
    27 March 2018
Share page
About sharing
A protestor at the March for Our Lives rally in Killeen, TexasImage source, Getty Images
ByGeorgina Rannard
BBC News

Is the new movement against gun violence that is sweeping America too white and too rich?

It's a question hotly debated on social media as hundreds of thousands rallied on Saturday in support of the #NeverAgain campaign that emerged after 17 people were killed in a gun attack at a high school in Parkland, Florida, last month.

Protesters are being accused of hypocrisy, as some ask why they didn't turn out for the Black Lives Matter movement, which was set up in 2013 to end police violence against black people and highlight the impact of gun violence in ethnic minority communities.

In 2016 more than 52% of murder victims (73% killed by guns) in America were black, external, even though black people make up 13% of the population.

Debate on Twitter focused on a photograph of white protesters holding up their palms, which read: "Don't shoot." The slogan and gesture became a rallying cry in 2014 after 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was reported to be raising his arms, was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Accusations that the weekend marches had appropriated the slogan were shared more than 3,000 times.

"Where were y'all when black people were getting shot though? If gun control don't include police and your protesting doesn't include innocent black people, I do not want it!" tweeted @frankpuddles.

Presentational grey line

You might also be interested in:

  • Florida school shooting: One mother, two gun attacks

  • Reddit: Guns, beer and tobacco transactions now banned

  • Comedian John Oliver lampoons Mike Pence with LGBT book

Presentational grey line

"Oh, what's that Never Again? Oh, 30 people were killed in Chicago since the march," wrote @MrRidiculous4.

However, others highlighted that black and Hispanic students had given speeches at the March for Our Lives.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by JJ Odelle

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by JJ Odelle

"More than half of the speeches were for BLM and the minorities who are the majority of gun violence survivors. Did you guys even go or watch? It's such an inclusive movement against all gun violence," tweeted @onegirlpizza, who conceded that using Black Lives Matter slogans was "inappropriate".

Race was also the subject of signs posted online with the Black Lives Matter hashtag.

This Instagram post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Instagram
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip instagram post by unitedblackout

Allow Instagram content?

This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of instagram post by unitedblackout

Black Lives Matter activists posted on Instagram their stories from the march, focusing on the two movements working together.

"We organised almost 1,000 students in less than 10 days from over 24 diff[erent] cities. I work with black youth who live in cities with real everyday stories on gun violence. Fourth Graders to college were so beautifully brave and focused today," wrote @tiffanydloftin.

This Instagram post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Instagram
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip instagram post 2 by tiffanydloftin

Allow Instagram content?

This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of instagram post 2 by tiffanydloftin

Media attention

Some critics suggested that Never Again has attracted so much attention because of the race and economic background of its founders, who are students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland.

"The Never Again movement has been spearheaded by white teens - that's why it's garnered so much attention," tweeted @gideonsvid, external.

"Families of black victims called for an end to violence, but that did not receive widespread media coverage. Black victims, whether victims of neighbourhood violence or otherwise, have not received the support that white victims have received," said one Instagram user, referring to a picture of a man holding a sign reading: "Black students matter."

This Instagram post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Instagram
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip instagram post 3 by democracynow

Allow Instagram content?

This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of instagram post 3 by democracynow

The issue of perceived disparity in media attention was raised by Naomi Wadler, 11, at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington DC. She co-led a walkout from her school last week and said she represented black American girls ignored by the media and suffering from gun violence.

Never Again founder David Hogg also said black survivors in his school, where 25% of the pupils are black, had not received the same media platform, external as himself and other teenagers.

Public appeals by relatives of fatally shot black men received high-profile media coverage in 2014, including Erica Garner, whose father died in New York City, and Lesley McSpaddon, mother of Michael Brown.

More on this story

  • The 11-year-old American with a rallying cry

    • Published
      24 March 2018
    Naomi Walder smiles as she addresses the crowd at March for Our Lives
  • The numbers behind the rise in US mass shootings

    • Published
      17 December 2024
    Gun at a gun show in Virginia
  • Protesters highlight police deaths across US

    • Published
      28 April 2015
    Photograph of Ezell Ford displayed at his funeral in Los Angeles on August 30, 2014.
  • The lost streets of Chicago. Video, 00:14:40The lost streets of Chicago

    • Published
      7 September 2016
    14:40
    WARNING: Contains very strong language. Killings in Chicago have hit a 20-year high as the grim toll for homicides passed 500. The BBC explores a world where gangs and guns rule.

Top stories

  • Starmer urges students not to protest on 7 October

    • Published
      1 hour ago
  • Trump says chance of Gaza peace deal 'really good' as talks to continue in Egypt

    • Published
      3 hours ago
  • Stephen Lawrence murderer must name other killers, father says

    • Published
      9 minutes ago

More to explore

  • I was fooled into paying £500 to be a model. Here's how to avoid my mistake

    Older woman with short blonde hair wearing a red top and white trousers posing for a photoshoot
  • 'UK Gaza protests going ahead' and 'Romp in Peace, Jilly'

    A composite image of The i Paper and The Sun. "UK Gaza protest going ahead today on anniversary of October 7 massacre" and "Romp in Peace, Jilly" reads the headlines of the two respectively.
  • What makes this US shutdown different (and more difficult)

    A woman wearing a dress with a black sleeveless top and a knee-length stripped black, white and bright pink skirt looks at a sign in front of the National Gallery of Art saying it is "closed due to federal government shutdown"
  • 'I was lucky to get out': Everest hikers battle hypothermia as blizzard rescue continues

    Person wearing winter trekking gear ploughing through a huge snow drift on Mount Everest
  • The true cost of cyber attacks - and the business weak spots that allow them to happen

    M&S and JLR logos
  • Sex, class, horses: The unique mix that made Jilly Cooper's books special

    Jill Cooper sitting at a piano, pictured in 1996
  • Does your relationship have a swag gap, and is that always a bad thing?

    Jessica Raialo wearing a green and blue flower patterned jacket, orange neck scarf, grey and red t-shirt and a belt, next to her boyfriend wearing a dark cap and long-sleeved top.
  • EastEnders' Kellie Bright on the challenges of being parent of an autistic child

    Kellie Bright is wearing a bright red shirt with white lace details, leaning forward with hands on a colourful floral-patterned surface, against a plain light background. Her hair is tied up with a pink accessory.
  • News Daily: Our flagship daily newsletter delivered to your inbox first thing, with all the latest headlines

    A promo promoting the News Daily newsletter - a graphic of an orange sphere with two concentric crescent shapes around it in a red-orange gradient, like a sound wave.
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    One iPhone led police to gang suspected of sending up to 40,000 stolen UK phones to China

  2. 2

    Pharmacies facing angry patients over Covid jab confusion

  3. 3

    I was fooled into paying £500 to be a model. Here's how to avoid my mistake

  4. 4

    'UK Gaza protests going ahead' and 'Romp in Peace, Jilly'

  5. 5

    Jenrick defends calling Handsworth 'worst-integrated'

  6. 6

    Starmer urges students not to protest on 7 October

  7. 7

    Footage shows Jihad Al-Shamie before attack

  8. 8

    Conservatives promise to scrap Sentencing Council

  9. 9

    Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity

  10. 10

    'With power comes responsibility' - the footballer who cycles to work

    • Attribution
      Sport

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • The Bafta-winning Belfast police drama returns

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Blue Lights has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Blue Lights
  • Andy Zaltzman dissects the week's news

    • Attribution
      Sounds

    Added to My Sounds
    The News Quiz has been added to your My Sounds.
  • Exposing a disturbing scam targeting teenage boys

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Blackmailed: The Sextortion Killers has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Blackmailed: The Sextortion Killers
  • The foods that could help you live to 100

    • Attribution
      Sounds

    Added to My Sounds
    The Food Chain has been added to your My Sounds.
    The Food Chain
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.